People in Bengal have started casting their votes for 43 seats in the sixth phase of the state’s assembly election amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. In this phase, elections are being held in 17 seats in the North 24 Parganas district and nine seats in Nadia — most of which has a significant presence of the Matuas, who are crucial to the electoral success of any party in the state.
Besides, elections are also being held in the nine seats in Uttar Dinajpur district and eight in Purba Bardhaman. A total of 306 candidates are in the fray in this phase and over 1.03 crore voters will decide the political fate of these candidates in this phase. Polling will continue till 6.30 pm, officials said. Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly are being held in eight phases, starting on March 27. Votes will be counted on May 2 with the last phase scheduled to be held on April 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged the voters to exercise their franchise in the 6th phase. “The people of West Bengal are voting to elect a new assembly. On the sixth phase today, urging those whose seats are polling to exercise their franchise,” he said in a tweet.
Prominent names in the sixth phase election include BJP’s national vice president Mukul Roy, TMC ministers Jyotipriyo Mallick, Chandrima Bhattacharya, CPI(M) leader Tanmay Bhattacharya, TMC candidate and film director Raj Chakraborty and actor-turned-politician Koushani Mukherjee.
